posted Oct 26th, 2019 - It was almost unthinkable that a 4-way team in the United States could take down the Arizona Airspeed giant. Yes, there were a few times when other teams won the USPA gold medals, but it surely did not happen very often ever since the Airspeed franchise was launched at Skydive Arizona in 1994.

Golden Knights, DeLand Majik and DeLand Fire managed to interrupt the Airspeed dominance between 2002 and 2006 before Craig Girard brought the Odyseey lineup back to the U.S. top in 2007 and to the top of the world in 2008. No other 4-way team has won the USPA Nationals and competed for the United States at world meets since 2007. That's a time period of 13 years.

This year's USPA Nationals were just completed, and the 2019 event marks the change that was hard to imagine. SDC Rhythm XP dethrowned Arizona Airspeed after these 13 years of 4-way dominace, and after launching the Rhythm project in 2006 with the goal to get to the top level of 4-way competition.

It was a coincidence that the first Rhythm lineup (JaNette and Steve Lefkowitz, Laurent Beaudouin, with player-coach Robert Chromy and Kevin Nafzger on camera) posted their first scores at USPA Nationals at the same event when Airspeed took back the 4-way reigns for the longest time period of dominance in this event.

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TURNING POINTS - U.S. 4-WAY REVOLUTION

JaNette and Steve Lefkowitz started from so far behind in 2007 (14.5 - 25.3) that there was not the slightest thought of their team eventually bringing Airspeed's 13-year winning streak to an end in September 2019. However, they had their goal and a plan, and they pursued it consequently with patience and persistance while watching Airspeed winning year after year.

They had to deal with setbacks time after time. People in the 4-way community even began to call SDC Rhythm XP Airspeed's farm team, as the Arizona champions "stole" Rhythm members on a regular basis between 2012 and 2015. Former Perris Fury member Chris Farina was the first Rhythm member who accepted the Airspeed invitation, followed by Thiago Gomes and Mikhail Markine.

It was always a winning proposition for Airspeed and the new members. The Airspeed recruiters knew that they would get well-trained top competitors from the second best team in the country, and that it would weaken the strongest opponent at the same time. The new Airspeed members knew that they would finally win after 2nd places with Rhythm, and that they would then compete for the world championship title.

There was only one "loser" - the respective Rhythm lineup, with team founders JaNette and Steve Lefkowitz.

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USPA Nationals 2019			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open Class		7,C,H,P		J,21,20		O,3,11		B,2,K,E		8,Q,10		15,D,F,12		N,L,M,14		6,1,9		A,18,13		G,4,5		17,16,22		Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	45	-1	24		27		37		21		25		34		25	-1	26	-1	25	-4	-		289	28.9
2	SDC Rhythm XP	US	41		22		21	-1	33		21		23		27		25		24		25		21	-1	262	26.2
3	Arizona Airspeed	US	40	-1	24		22	-2	32		19	-2	24		29		25		21	-2	26	-1	20	-2	262	26.2
4	Defiance	US	30	-1	21		15	-4	28		16		19		22	-3	21		18	-1	18	-1	-		208	20.8
5	Ranch 2nd Generation	US	26		19		19		24	-2	16	-1	17	-1	24		18	-1	19		19		-		201	20.1
6	Kinetix	AU	26		18		17		22		13	-1	17		18	-1	17		17		17		-		182	18.2
7	Lite XP	US	24	-1	17		17		22		15		17		20	-2	16	-1	14		17		-		179	17.9
8	No Name	US	22	-4	17		14		19	-2	12	-2	13		14	-3	15		14		16		-		156	15.6
9	Aviatrixx	US	21		14		13	-1	18	-1	12	-2	15		17	-1	14	-1	12		14		-		150	15.0
10	Perris Force	US	20		13	-1	14		18		11	-1	11		18	-1	13	-1	12		12	-1	-		142	14.2

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I have followed JaNette and Steve and their changing lineups from their first year on and talked to them year after year whenever there was an opportunity. It was amazing how they never lost their motivation and energy. There were no signs of frustration or disappointment whenever team members left and a new lineup signed up for the next phase. They continued to work on their goals, which went far beyond just becoming the best team they could be. They also built the Rhythm project to a new level of professionalism that has been unknown in the 4-way world.

The time as Airspeed's "farm team" finally came to an end when two graduates from the Virginia Tech University decided to join the two graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and pursue their own dreams and goals together. Andrew Happick and Doug Barron had worked themselves up to a high 4-way level with their former team, Carolina Turbo XP. They accepted the Rhythm invitation in 2016, and it became the perfect fit.

Arizona Airspeed's team captain Niklas Hemlin still had his eyes on the members of the new Rhythm lineup, especially when he needed a replacement for Thomas Hughes at the end of the 2016 season. It is no secret that Steve Lefkowitz has always been his top candidate. However, the new Rhythm lineup was set and committed. Airspeed had to find their own ways and without any Rhythm members.

Rhythm lineups between 2007 and 2019

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It became a fair and square game from then on forward, and Rhythm had a head start this time. They started a year earlier with their new lineup of four university graduates in 2016, while Airspeed began training with new member Ari Perelman in 2017.

Airspeed still caught up quickly and won again in 2017 and 2018, while Rhythm was dealing with another setback, which was not related to personnel changes this time. Doug Barron was injured and missed almost the complete 2018 season. Former Rhythm member Rob Radez helped out the USPA Nationals 2018.

The dedication and passion that JaNette and Steve Lefkowitz had been showing over the Rhythm years was copied by Doug Barron this time. He mastered his challenging recovery with the same energy and came back earlier and better than it could have been expected. Rhythm was back in action with the complete lineup for the whole 2019 season, which came to the happy end at the USPA Nationals.

Yes, it was surely not an easy year for Arizona Airspeed, when Ari Perelman left the team at a crucial time. It would be easy to say that this was the main reason why Airspeed lost this time, and it might have some value. It is still not the best explanation for what happened. Not only training and techniques, resources and time bring success. It is also a big part of the 4-way game to keep a team together long enough. JaNette and Steve Lefkowitz can write a book about that...

Arizona Airspeed versus SDC Rhythm XP between 2007 and 2019

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Airspeed could have probably won with the same lineup that finished only two points behind NMP PCH HayaBusa in Australia 2018. But that's the good old "could" and "would" - and they don't count at all. Credit still goes to Airspeed and Matt Davidson for the impressive progression in the three months that they had. They were able to force Rhythm into an extra round.

The main reason for Rhythm's fairytale story with the happy end is still their own performance, which peaked at the right time. The 26.2 was a new record average for the current lineup, significantly higher than the previous numbers. Without that, Airspeed would still have walked away with the next U.S. 4-way title.

I have seen many award ceremonies at USPA Nationals and world championships before, but I have never experienced a crowd that was cheering a winning team as much as it happened at Skydive Paraclete XP when SDC Rhythm XP were called to the podium. Yes, you can call it standing ovations, for minutes. Tears were flowing, champagne bottles were popping, and it was almost impossible to get close to the team. It was more than only the celebration for a winning team. It seemed like the whole history of the team, with all its ups and downs, was celebrated at the 4-way awards.

Congratulations - well deserved...